


The Painting

by hikachuuu



Category: B.A.P
Genre: Depression, Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Lives, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reincarnation, Shamanism, Suicidal Thoughts, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 04:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15833535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikachuuu/pseuds/hikachuuu
Summary: After an attempt on Jongup's life leaves him injured and in physical therapy, the prospect of never dancing again weighed heavily on his mind. However, those problems take the backseat the day he brings a new painting home.





	The Painting

**Author's Note:**

> a few notes i guess; got this idea when i should be working on my other past lives fic (that's been like a year in the making, rip). don't even remember where this idea came from?  
> uh, yoojae, pup, and jelly belly are a trio kpop group, bbang their producer, and chan their manager ig.  
> jongup has hazel eyes, think go ara, in this fic.  
> will update this about once or twice a month, cause english teacher like if busy, yo. also everything will be korean standard time cause i live here, thanks.  
> please take the warnings with a grain of salt, if any of those tags trigger you, please don't read. it won't be heavy descriptive for somethings, but i added those tags anyway.
> 
> this chapter has like hella time skips and is fast paced so we can get to the good stuff, kk?

_“Are you sure this will work?” The man asked, his hand tightened around hers and she smiled, her crooked bunny like teeth also caused him to smile. “Okay, I get it, I need to trust you.”_

_“This spell has a fail-safe, don’t worry, we’re bound together, as soulmates,” She cupped his cheeks and looked into his eyes. “I have asked the goddess Sungmo for her help, she has granted it, should anything happen to me, I will always come back. However, I cannot guarantee it will be quickly, it may even be centuries.”_

_“I would wait an eternity for you,” He spoke softly as he carded his fingers through her snow white hair, a trait that comes with being blessed by the Holy Mother. “Let’s move as far away from here as we can when this is all over.”_

_“Take this jade pin, it contains the magic I will need to break this curse,” She said softly as she placed it into his hair. Once in place ran her fingers through the ink-black locks of his ponytail and then smoothed out the top of his hanbok. “Are you ready?”_

_“For you, I’m always ready.”_

* * *

 

When Jongup woke, all he remembered previously was the screams around him, the blinding flashes from the cameras, and white, hot pain. Now he couldn’t feel anything, the only noise was beeping and unintelligible words from the television. It smelled of disinfectant and his favorite fabric soften, where was he even? He was finally able to pull enough strength to open his eyes and everything was grey, drab blues, and white. Except for the soft baby green fleece blanket laid over him, his favorite travel blanket. Clearly, he was in the hospital...his eyes drifted to the door when he heard it being slid open. A low gravelly voice filled his ears, it was a comfort to hear that voice.

“No, he’s not up yet…” Himchan slid the door closed and looked over at Jongup and dropped the phone in his hand and hit the floor with a loud cracking sound. “Oh my God, you’re awake, how do you feel? Should I get the nurse? Yes, don’t answer that.”

Himchan was out the door, phone on the floor as a muffled voice called from it as Jongup stared at the door. Not like he could say much with the nasogastric feeding tube currently shoved up his nose and down his throat. The door slid open again after a few minutes as several nurses, a doctor, and Himchan came back into the room. Himchan finally scooped his phone off the ground and muttered something quicking into the mic before he hung up and put the phone away.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Song, do you know who you are?” The woman asked as she jotted something on a clipboard as a nurse removed the feeding tube. Well, that was an unpleasant experience. “Before any of that, however, let’s get some fluids down, I’m sure your throat is dry.”

He gratefully took big gulps of water through the straw offered to him, the water room temperature, but tasted like the best goddamn water he’d ever drunk. Himchan was at his side instantly when the nurses moved out the way, stroking his hair as he tried to get as close as possible. God, Jongup was so confused, what had happened? He opened his mouth to voice as much, but his voice was scratchy and airier than usual.

“What….what happened?”

“You were quite literally stabbed in the goddamn back by a maniac,” Himchan growled out and it was slightly terrifying given the man’s typical joyous nature. “He confessed the reason he did it was because the girl he liked rejected him by saying he wasn’t enough like you.”

“At the award show?”

“Yes,” Dr. Song cut in this time before Himchan could answer. “What is your name, age, and birthday?”

“Moon Jongup, twenty-four is my Korean age, and my birthday is February 6th, 1995.” She jotted a few things down and nodded. “So...uhm...how long was I asleep?”

“We’ve had you in a medical coma for about a week and a half, you had to go for emergency surgery, you sustained an injury to the lumbar plexus nerve,”  She pulled the blankets from his feet and tapped to his right foot with a small triangular mallet. “Did you feel that?”

“Uhm...not...not really…?” Suddenly he felt sick to his stomach.

“Can you try to move your feet for me?” He looked at his feet and tried to move his ankles in a circular motion, then panic set in as he tried to at least wiggle his toes. “Okay, it seems like you might have paralysis it could be temporary, can you try to bend your knees for me?

With great difficulty and pain, he was able to bend his knees a little bit before he dropped them in exhaustion. He felt frustration, sadness, and despair flood his whole being if he couldn’t move his legs how could he dance? The thought of not dancing ever again made a sudden wave of nausea hit him like a freight train.

“Whoa, whoa,” Himchan said as he grabbed the plastic puke bucket from the bedside table getting it to Jongup just in time for him to spill bile into it.  He rubbed Jongup's back as he dry-heaved into the plastic container. “It’s okay, you’re okay, it’ll be okay, Pup.”

“The fact you can slightly move your knees is good, you’ll need lots of physical therapy,” She jotted something down and handed it to one of the nurses who left the room. “But I think you should be able to walk again.”

“...what about dancing?” She didn’t say anything right away but made eye contact with Himchan as the two had a silent conversation. “Please tell me I can dance again.”

“It’s...it’s a possibility, not a high one, but, it’s there. Even if you could regain that ability, you’d have to be careful, there’s permanent nerve damage.”

“Dr. Song, do you think we could have some time alone?” She didn’t say anything, but nodded and left the room with the nurses in tow, one of the nurses taking the plastic bucket with them. The two sat in silence before Himchan spoke softly. “You’ll be able to dance again, it’ll just take awhile.”

“But...what if I can’t?” It was seldom Jongup ever got emotional, but the thought of never being able to dance again? To do something he loved more than life? Then what was the point of living? “That's not a life I want to live…”

“You will dance again if there’s a will, there’s a way, and you are the most willful person I know, Jongup.”

There was a knock on the door and then it slid open to reveal Youngjae, with flowers and Jongup’s favorite pillow. Behind him stood Yongguk and Junhong, the three waiting to be invited into his room. Himchan motioned for the three to come into the room and as soon as he did, the was pulled from the bed so Junhong and Youngjae could squeeze into the tiny space and crowd Jongup.

“We brought you flowers and your favorite pillow--”

“And snacks and stuffed animals--”

“How are you feeling?”

“Uhm…” Jongup couldn’t get a word in at the two talked over each other, odd seeing Junhong this talkative. “I’m fine, I guess.”

“Bbang, come on, let’s leave them, we need to talk,” Himchan said softly as to not alert Jongup. “It’s important.”

“How’s your back?” Youngjae asked as he snuggled up next to Jongup who just shrugged, not in the mood to talk about it.

“Did you have any cool dreams while you were in a coma?” At this Jongup squinted at Junhong, partially due to the weirdness of the question, but mostly because he wasn’t wearing his glasses. “I bet it was trippy.”

“I don’t remember much of it honestly.”

“When do you think you’ll be back on your feet again? The company  is letting the three of us do solo tracks for the new album.” Junhong looked so hopeful and innocent, Jongup didn’t want to ruin his happiness, but…

“I’m partially paralyzed from the knees down, Jun.”

There was a sharp intake from Youngjae and whimper from Junhong, who had the tendency to be very emotional. They sat in silence until the older two came back and noticed awkward tension in the room. Yongguk was surprisingly the first to break it.

“I’m going to research physical therapists, I know there’s one in Busan who has received several awards, Dr. Jun Hyosung. I’ll have your charts sent over to her if you like?”

“I guess…”

“Maybe a psychologist, since this is a lot to take in mentally as well…” Yongguk added in slowly to gauge his reaction. “It’ll be good for you, I am sure of it.”

“Yeah, whatever you say.”

* * *

 

It took an entire month for him to be able to bend his knees without getting completely winded or collapsing from pain. Two months to be able to use all the muscles in his feet and three months to walk with crutches. So here he was at an art gallery charity, hobbling around with his crutches, where artists and people donated art to raise money for children’s homes across the country. Yongguk, of course, was the person who set up the entirety of this, garnering high profile people from around the world, even the public could attend, after a screening, of course. They didn’t want a repeat of what happened to Jongup. He followed as close to Himchan as he could with these stupid, metal, painful traps. His lungs hurt, his knees hurt, not to mention the noises and lights put him on edge, God, he just wanted to sit down.

“Wait, Himchan, wait,” He stopped in front of an old woman, in a traditional hanbok with a painting of a man singing in a field, somewhat realistic, but also somewhat in the traditional Korean art style. He was wearing a soft blue hanbok, his hair in a high ponytail, with what looked like the jade pins women traditionally wore. “Excuse me...can you tell me about this painting?”

“Oh? Are you interested in it, young man? Well, it’s been in my family for over two centuries, but...I think it needs a new family,” She looked at Jongup and hummed softly. “What is one thing in this picture that seems off?”

“Uh...well...everything about the picture looks happy, even his smile, but his eyes look sad and lonely,” Himchan snorted next to him. “Why does he look lonely when the picture is clearly meant to be happy…”

“Ah, you have a good eye, not many people notice that unless it's pointed out to them,” She brushed her fingers over the glass and Jongup could have sworn he saw the eyes move. “I guess he's lonely from being locked in an old unused room. You look like you could use the company too.”

“Well, I'm  not sure how much company a picture could give me, but, I think it'll look good in my living room.” He looked over at Himchan who was distracted by something on his phone. “Hey, could you help me carry this to the back room?”

“Hm? Yeah, one second, Bbang needs something,” Himchan rushed off as he left Jongup awkwardly and painfully resting on his crutches.

“Sit, sit while you wait, clearly you’re in pain,” The elderly woman said as she got up from the seat she was in and helped him into it. “Out of all these pieces of art, what drew you to this one?”

“I wasn’t even looking, I just came to support my friend, but also this is my first public appearance since my accident,” He rubbed his sore forearms where the cuffs rubbed and chafed at the skin. “I thought I had heard someone say my name and when I looked there was the painting. The man also looks familiar, like someone from a distant childhood memory.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Why are you selling it if it’s been in your family so long, wouldn’t that make it priceless?”

“It’s for a good cause, I’m going to match the amount of its price and donate all the money to the children’s homes,” She smoothed out her hanbok and looked at the painting fondly. “Plus, this piece deserves to be admired, it doesn’t get that being locked in the old storage room under a sheet like I mentioned before.”

“Oh, uhm, then how much would you like for it?”

“What do you think it’s worth?”

“Uhm…” Jongup didn’t know the answer to that because it really was priceless. “I will give you one million won for it. That’s really all the cash I brought or I’d offer more.”

“And I will match that, ah your friend is coming back.”

Himchan was coming back with a saleswoman in tow, just to make sure all sales proceedings went smooth. When Himchan saw Jongup in the chair he knelt down and rubbed his arm.

“Hey, are you feeling alright? You know I told you to tell me if you were hurting,”  Jongup didn’t look at him and stubbornly looked at the ground. He hated everyone treated him like a child these days. “Alright, let’s work this out, I need to get him home.”

Home, ha, that little apartment back in Busan where he had to stay until he could properly walk again was not home. He was far away from everyone he loved, an almost five-hour car ride or a 2 and a half hour KTX ride. Yeah. Home.

“I told this young man I’d match whatever he paid and it would all go towards the fundraiser.”

“Ma’am, are you serious?” The saleswoman asked delightedly pulling out a notepad for the old woman to fill out. “Just fill in your name, number, address, and email so we can give you an honorable mention.”

“Oh, no, I would like to do it anonymously, if that’s okay.”

“Absolutely, now let’s start this transaction.”

* * *

 

Jongup sat in the passenger's seat of Himchan’s car, staring out the window as they went back to Himchan and Yongguk ’s apartment due to the late hour. Himchan could sense the foul mood Jong was in the moment they got into the car and the tension had been building for fifteen minutes. It would be another ten minutes before they got to Himchan and Yongguk’s shared apartment. He sighed and finally spoke, knowing these past few months Jongup’s moods were up and down, having more bad days than good ones.

“Talk to me, Jongup, why are you so upset?”

“I’m not.”

“Jongup, please, just talk to me--”

“Fine, you want me to talk? Well, I have to rely on crutches to walk, which is going to be all over the media by the way, so that’s great,” His voice continued to rise as hysteria started to hit him full force. “Flashing lights, loud noises, things like that cause me to go into panic mode because apparently, I have PTSD from the attack. Oh, and the only thing I live for, I might not be able to do again. So that’s also fantastic!”

“Well, that’s probably the loudest I have ever heard you speak in the years I’ve known you, anything else you need to get off your chest?”

Jongup’s eye twitched knowing damn well Himchan was setting him up, was he going to take the bait? Absolutely.

“I’m so damn lonely in Busan, yeah, Dr. Jun is great and has helped me progress, quickly in the eyes of the medical community, but I want to...to,” Jongup inhaled deeply, voice so quiet when he spoke again, Himchan almost didn’t hear it. “Die. It’s so lonely and everything is so awful, I think about how nice it would be to just die.”

“Shit...why didn’t you tell us...me, sooner?”

“You all were so happy with the progress I was making with Dr. Jun, I didn’t want to disappo--”

“At the cost of your mental health? Jongup, if you were feeling that way, we would have brought you back, there are plenty of good doctors in Seoul.” Himchan glanced over at Jongup, who had his head rested on the cool glass of the window. “Yongguk only suggested her because she’s very good at her job and he knew you wanted to dance again.”

Jongup just shrugged and didn’t say anything the remainder of the car ride. Himchan didn’t mention the sniffling he heard or the redness of Jongup’s eyes when they got to the apartment.

* * *

 

When Himchan and Yongguk helped Jongup set the painting up, it was obvious they were apprehensive about leaving him alone. Not after what Jongup had confessed what he did last night when his emotions finally boiled over. However, now he was back to being quiet and reserved, which caused the two older men to look at each other in concern.

“Please call us every day, uhm, remember to eat, Dr. Jun said if you keep this progress up you can be transferred up to Seoul within a month or two,” Himchan said softly, but Jongup didn’t say anything and just looked at the painting. “We’ll call you when we get home, okay?”

“Mm, drive safe, you two.”

That was the only response they got, Himchan sighed loudly and kissed the top of Jongup’s head. The younger looked him, clearly upset with the fact they were leaving and spoke again, this time softer.

“I love you guys, please get home safe.”

Himchan smiled and kissed the top of his head again before Yongguk squeezed his shoulder, they really were such parents sometimes. They left with the quiet click of the door before the door chimed as the automatic lock slid into place. He sighed and looked around his living, no personality to it at all except the painting. He brought his legs up onto the couch so he could lay down and pulled his fleece blanket over himself. He soon drifted asleep to the sounds of the city that floated in through his window.

* * *

 

_He opened his eyes and found himself in a field, there was a hill nearby, and from the hill, he heard a song. It was odd, something like this, for there to be a field like this with no country roads or highways nearby. Where was he even? He followed the song only to stop and realize he was walking without his crutches, pain,, or stiffness. He used this chance to run up the hill and stopped when he got to the top. There he saw the source of the song at the bottom of the other side of the hill. A man in a soft baby blue hanbok, with a high ponytail, and jade pins. The man stopped singing when he noticed him, his eyes going wide._

_“Moon Yunhee? Wait, no,” The man started to walk towards him and Jongup couldn’t move, his heart was in his throat, as something warm thrummed through his veins. “Are you related to her? The resemblance is almost uncanny.”_

_“I...I don’t know? My family name is Moon, yes.”_

_“Your face is hers, I am sure, but you are clearly a man, your hair isn’t white like hers and her eyes were the color of lavender. Your eyes...well they’re like ginger tea with specks of spring grass,” The man mostly was talking to himself as he walked closer when he was within touching distance he reached for Jongup. “What the…”_

_“Do...do I know you?” Somewhere in Jongup’s mind, he knew that touch._

_“Wait...” Something came across the man’s face. “Oh my gods, how did you get into this cursed world? This is is my prison until the curse can be lifted.”_

_“Curse?”_

_“And the only person who can lift it is Yunhee...and...she’s the only person who can get here,” He grabbed Jongup’s hand again and looked at him. “You_ are _Yunhee. You have to be her, you must be her reincarnation.”_

_“No, I think--” Jongup stumbled back when the man got closer but was unable to pull his hand from the man’s._

_“Please, only you can break this curse.” He got so close Jongup could feel his breath on his lips, their eyes locked. “I’ve been trapped here for over two centuries.”_

 

**Author's Note:**

> okay, so the only korean style apartment i am familiar with is a one room, basically, your room is the living room, then there's a sliding door that leads to the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom areas. uh, so either use your imagination, reference kdramas, or pretend it's a western styled apartment jongup lives in, thank.
> 
> the lumbar plexus nerve is essentially in charge of areas in your legs, so if that gets damaged, it could cause temporary or permanent paralysis. but uh, also i am not a doctor, so if you are a med student and it's wrong, feel free to yell at me.
> 
> sorry for typos, am the tired af, y'all.


End file.
